I remember “Trick or Treating” as a child. We ran house to house visiting neighbors who filled our pillowcases with Halloween treats. When our pillowcases were too heavy to carry, we knew it was time to head back home and assess our loot. Truth be told, I usually snuck a candy bar (or several) along the way.

Since my daughter Emma’s diagnosis with Celiac Disease this year, we’ve worked to keep special events and holidays as “normal” as possible. A little pre-All Hollows’ Eve planning and communication with your child is all you need!

I Want Candy!

Who doesn’t want candy? If I could eat candy for breakfast, lunch, and dinner – I certainly would! Halloween is a free for all of sugary goodness; some safe, some off-limits. Most importantly, you need to sit down with your child a few days before Halloween to talk about your Halloween game plan:

Reinforce the fact that absolutely no candy can be eaten until an adults checks the ingredients to make sure they are safe. This means no sneaking treats like I did in the “old days”.

Talk with your child about how they will get some unsafe treats while Trick or Treating.

Get your kids involved in baking Halloween treats – do they want cupcakes with icing spiderwebs or spooky brownies for their class party?

Trick or Trade: Out with the Gluten – In with the Fun!

It’s inevitable that your child is going to get treats that are not gluten-free in their bag and you’ll need to remove them. One way to help kids from feeling upset or deprived is what we like to call “Trick or Trade”. Prior to Halloween night, buy a bag of gluten-free candy that your child likes. Keep it on hand to trade out the gluten-filled candy. Another option that your dentist will surely love is to have inexpensive items to trade (think of things that you would put into a birthday “goodie bag”).

One word of advice, be sure to check with the teachers and room parents on the party activities and if the day will contain any gluten-filled games. One popular class activity is a “No Hands Donut Eating Contest”. Picture glutinous donuts tied to strings and the student attempting to eat said donuts with their arms behind their backs. Yes, gluten will be flying everywhere…. So stay in touch with the school so that you (or your child) don’t encounter a unpleasant party surprise.

Halloween is a fun, creative, and tasty time of the year! Equipped with these gluten-free tips, you can make this Halloween memorable!

At times, it’s hard for me to remember life before the title of “Mom”. I have many other labels – wife, daughter, sister, and friend, but “Mom” feels most special. Being loved unconditionally is a pretty amazing thing. There’s nothing like your son telling you how pretty you look when in all reality your hair looks like a bird’s nest and your sweat suit attire should have been packed away five years ago. I did get my son Ryan’s eyes checked after his adorable statement but his peepers were just fine.

My daughter Emma just turned 10 and my son Ryan will be 7 next month, so I’ve had the pleasure of celebrating many a Mother’s Day. No matter how you choose to celebrate, the most important part of the day is being together. With that said, presents, flowers, and sparkly objects will not be turned down…

Happy Mother’s Day from one mom to another!

Breakfast in Bed

I love to sleep. I think it’s because I was sleep deprived for the first five years of my kids’ lives. In my humble opinion, there is nothing better than being served breakfast in bed. Well, an all-expenses paid trip to Hawaii would totally be better, but that’s comparing apples to oranges. Why not treat mom to a delicious gluten-free breakfast? Don’t forget to clean up the dishes afterwards – that’s sure to score you bonus points.

Picnics are fun for the whole family. Pack a picnic basket with mom’s favorite foods and head off to celebrate Mother’s Day while she relaxes on a blanket reading her favorite book or magazine. Rain in the forecast? No worries – bring the picnic indoors! Set up in your living room and put on some of mom’s go-to music.

Bake for approximately 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to cooling rack. Cool completely, about 1 hour.

Place one cake in center of large platter for bunny’s head. Place other cake on cutting surface; cut two football-shaped pieces from each side of cake to use for ears. Place ears on top of bunny’s head. Place remaining piece under bunny’s head for bow tie.

Sprinkle remaining (un-dyed) coconut all over bunny’s head and edges of ears, leaving centers of ears pink.

Make whiskers, eyes and mouth with jelly beans. Use gumdrops for the nose and bow tie buttons.

Baskets filled with (gluten-free) Easter joy!

Unsure what candy is safe and what is gluten-filled? Never fear! Before you fill those baskets with sweets, stop by MyGlutenFacts.com for an amazing listing of gluten-free holiday candy. Their comprehensive directory is even broken down into two categories – jelly beans and candy.

April is one of my favorite months of the year. The sun seems to shine a bit brighter. Yards and gardens are waking up from their long winter naps. Families excitedly emerge to work and play outdoors. All is new again. Hello Spring, welcome back! Despite Punxsutawney Phil’s chilly prediction, the warm weather has shown up a month early. March has definitely been more of a lamb than a lion! In your face groundhog!

Every year, my family travels to our nation’s capital, Washington, DC for the National Cherry Blossom Festival. In 1912, Mayor Yukio Ozaki of Tokyo gave the gift of 3,000 cherry trees to the city of Washington, DC. The annual celebration honors the lasting friendship between the United States and Japan. This year, the world-famous National Cherry Blossom Festival celebrates the 100th anniversary of the gift of the cherry trees.

Viewing the cherry blossoms is absolutely breathtaking. Light breezes blow through the tree branches and create a shower of delicate pink and white petals while our national monuments serve as a stunning backdrop. An added bonus for visitors is that Washington, DC is a fabulously gluten-free city! Dining options abound, from casual to elegant. Be sure to save room for a gluten-free dessert (or two!). For more information on gluten-free travel, visit Delight Gluten-Free Magazine’s interactive map of Washington, DC.

In honor of the Cherry Blossom Festival, I’ve created this delectable cherry-themed dessert. Happy spring!

Gluten-Free Cheesecake with Cherry Topping
Who needs a graham cracker crust? Whip up a delicious Chex Cereal crust for this cherry cheesecake!

While crust is baking, blend cream cheese until fluffy with a mixer. Slowly incorporate sugar until thoroughly combined. Add eggs, sour cream, milk, vanilla extract, and Gluten-Free Bisquick. Using a spatula, scrape the bottom and sides of the mixing bowl to ensure the batter is thoroughly combined. Pour batter into an 8-inch springform pan. Bake in center of oven for 60 minutes at 350 degrees F. Place a baking sheet filled with water on the rack beneath the cheesecake to eliminate cracking and maintain moistness. After 60 minutes, turn off the oven, crack the oven door, and let the cheesecake remain in the oven for 1 hour. After 1 hour, refrigerate cheesecake to chill. Add cherry pie topping and serve.

If you don’t have a waffle maker in your kitchen gadget arsenal, stop everything (well finish this post first), run to the nearest kitchen gadget store, and buy one! My waffle maker is one of my go-to appliances. The kids love waffles for our weekend family breakfasts. Since weekdays are absolutely crazy with school, soccer, piano, gymnastics, and other random sports the kids are involved in, I’ll cook up a large batch of waffles and freeze them for a quick breakfast during the week. Waffles are also the PERFECT substitute for bread! Think BLT, egg and cheese, or (one of my favs) Nutella and Nutella with some extra Nutella on the side (I have a bad obsession with this stuff).

I’m going to share one of my special recipes: PB&J Waffles. I am a self-proclaimed expert on all things peanut butter & jelly since I ate a PB&J sandwich every.single.day from Kindergarten to High School. Seriously, I’m not kidding… Why not take this waffle craze a step further and host your own Waffle Bar? Imagine how fun Sunday Brunch will be at your house!

Host Your Own Waffle Bar!
Hosting your own Waffle Bar is SO easy… Here are some topping ideas to include in your buffet. Get as creative as you like, the possibilities are endless to what you can top a waffle with!

Let the panic/stress/I’m off my rocker festivities begin! All joking aside, I seriously love celebrating the holiday season by serving up a delicious breakfast buffet. Breakfast is much more manageable than attempting to clean a turkey and make like 26 side dishes from scratch. Don’t forget the hand stamped and embossed place cards. Yeah, I’m so over it! Why not join my holiday mutiny and kick off your celebration with a warm and cozy gluten free breakfast? Since we’re all family here at Hold The Gluten, I’m sharing my Good Morning Gluten Free Coffee Cake recipe with you! Now don’t you feel special?! You’ll not only find the cinnamon-sugary streusel mix on the top of this fabulous coffee cake, but in the center as well. Can you say gluten free goodness? I would but my mouth is totally full of coffee cake…

Pre-heat oven oven to 350°F. Spray an 11-inch round springform pan with cooking spray. In a small bowl, prepare the streusel mix using 2/3 cup Bisquick mix, brown sugar and cinnamon. Cut in butter, using a mixer until mixture is crumbly; set aside. In medium bowl, stir all coffee cake ingredients until blended. Spread half of the coffee cake batter in pan; sprinkle with half of the streusel topping, spread remaining batter and then top with remaining streusel topping. Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm! Store tightly covered.